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4 Estate Planning Must-Haves for Unmarried Couples—Part 1

6/12/2019

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Estate planning is often considered something you only need to worry about once you get married. But the reality is every adult, regardless of age, income level, or marital status, needs to have some fundamental planning strategies in place if you want to keep the people you love out of court and out of conflict.

In fact, estate planning can be even more critical for unmarried couples. Regardless if you’ve been together for decades and act just like a married couple, you likely aren’t viewed as one in the eyes of the law. And in the event one of you becomes incapacitated or when one of you dies, not having any planning in place can have disastrous consequences.

If you’re in a committed relationship and have yet to get—or even have no plans to get—married, the following estate planning documents are an absolute must:



1. Wills and Trusts
If you’re unmarried and die without planning, the assets you leave behind will be distributed according to your state’s intestate laws to your family members: parents, siblings, and possibly even other, more distant relatives if you have no living parents or siblings. The state’s laws would provide NO protection for your unmarried partner. Given this, if you want your partner to receive any of your assets upon your death, you need to—at the very least—create a will.

A will details how you want your assets distributed after you die, and you can name your unmarried partner, or even a friend, to inherit some or all of your assets. However, certain assets like life insurance, pensions, and 401(k)s, are not transferred through a will. Instead, those assets will go to the person named in the beneficiary designation, so be sure to name your partner as beneficiary if you’d like him, her, or them to inherit those assets. However, there could be an even better way.

Although wills and beneficiary designations offer one way for your unmarried partner to inherit your assets, they’re not always the best option. First and foremost, they do not operate in the event of your incapacity, which could occur before your death. In that case, your partner may not have access to needed assets to pay bills, or they could potentially even be kicked out of your home by a family member appointed as your guardian during your incapacity.

Moreover, a will requires probate, a court process that can take quite some time to navigate. And finally, assets passed by beneficiary designation go outright to your partner, with no protection from creditors or lawsuits. To protect those assets for your partner, you’ll need a different planning strategy.

A far better option would be to place the assets you want your partner to inherit in a living trust. First off, trusts can be used to transfer assets in the event of your incapacity, not just upon your death. Trusts also do not have to go through probate, saving your partner precious time and money not to mention the public record aspect of probate.What’s more, leaving your assets in a continued trust that your partner could control would ensure the assets are protected from creditors, future relationships, and/or unexpected lawsuits.

Consult with me for help deciding which option—a will or trust—is best suited for passing on your assets.

2. Durable Power of Attorney
When it comes to estate planning, most people focus only on what happens when they die. However, it’s just as important—if not even more so—to plan for your potential incapacity due to an accident or illness.

If you become incapacitated and haven’t legally named someone to handle your finances while you’re unable to do so, the court will pick someone for you. And this person could be a family member, who doesn’t care for or want to support your partner (the worst possibility if you are estranged from family), or it could be a professional guardian who will charge hefty fees, possibly draining your estate.



Since it’s unlikely that your unmarried partner will be the court’s first choice, if you want your partner (or even a friend)  to manage your finances in the event you become incapacitated, you would grant your partner (or friend) a durable power of attorney.

Durable power of attorney is an estate planning tool that will give your partner immediate authority to manage your financial matters in the event of your incapacity. They will have a broad range of powers to handle things like paying your bills and taxes, running your business, collecting government benefits, selling your home, as well as managing your banking and investment accounts.

Granting a durable power of attorney to your partner is especially important if you live together, because without it, the person who is named by the court could legally force your partner out with little to no notice, leaving your partner homeless.

Next week, we’ll continue with part two in this series on must-have estate planning strategies for unmarried couples.



What is a Personal Family Lawyer®?  A lawyer who develops trusting relationships with families for life. That’s why Breiner Law Firm offers a Family Wealth Planning Session where I can review your family wealth needs and help identify the best strategies for you and your family. I don’t just draft documents; I ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. While preparing for your Session, you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge. You can begin by scheduling a time for us to sit down and talk because this planning is so important. 
SCHEDULE A CALL WITH SARAH
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90210 Star Luke Perry’s Death Demonstrates the
 Importance of Planning for Incapacity

3/15/2019

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In late February, Luke Perry, who became famous starring in the 1990s TV series Beverly Hills 90210, suffered a massive stroke at age 52. He was hospitalized under heavy sedation, and five days later, when it became clear he wouldn’t recover, his family decided to remove life support.

Perry died on March 4th, 2019 surrounded by his two children - 21 year old Jack and 18 year old Sophie - along with his fiancé, ex-wife, mother, siblings, and others.

Whether or not you were a Luke Perry fan, it’s hard not to be somewhat shocked when someone so young, successful, and seemingly healthy passes away so suddenly. In these moments, the fragile impermanence of life becomes glaringly obvious. It’s life’s way of reminding us that incapacity and death can strike at any time, no matter who you are.
Such reminders can make you feel extremely vulnerable. And they can also be a precious reminder to make the most of life now.

Reminders of the fleeting nature of life can actually be a wonderful thing, if it motivates you to savor life now AND take the proper action to protect the ones you love through proper estate planning. And while we don’t yet know exactly what levels of planning Perry had in place, it appears he was thoughtful and responsible enough to have at least covered the basics.

Planning for incapacity and death
Perry was reportedly inspired to create his own estate plan following a fairly recent health scare. In 2015, after discovering he had precancerous growths during a colonoscopy, Perry created a will, leaving everything to his two children. Since Perry was worth an estimated $10 million, divorced with kids from the first marriage, and about to be married again, creating a will was the very least he could do.

But wills are just a small part of the planning equation. Wills only apply to the distribution of your assets following death, and even then, your will must go through the court process known as probate for your assets to be distributed. Because a will only comes into play upon your death, if you’re ever incapacitated by accident or illness as Perry was, it offers neither you nor your family any protections.

In Perry’s case, he was incapacitated by a stroke and on life support for nearly a week before he died. During this period, the fact Perry had a will was irrelevant because he was still alive. But given how events unfolded, it appears Perry had other planning vehicles in place to prepare for just this situation.

The power over life and death
During the time he was incapacitated, someone was called upon to make crucial medical decisions for Perry’s welfare, while his family was summoned to his side. To this end, it’s likely that Perry designated someone to serve as his medical decision-maker by granting them medical power of attorney. He may have also created a living will (known in many states, in combination with the medical power of attorney, as an Advance Directive), which would provide specific instructions to this individual regarding how to make these medical decisions.

Granting medical power of attorney gives the person you name the authority to make healthcare decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacity. An advance healthcare directive is an absolute must-have for every adult over age 18.

Perry was put on life support for nearly a week, and then he was removed from it and allowed to die without ever regaining consciousness—and without any apparent conflict between his loved ones. This indicates that someone in his family likely had the legal authority to make those heart-wrenching decisions over Perry’s life and death.

Without medical power of attorney, if any of Perry's family were in disagreement over how his medical care should be handled, the family may have needed a court order to terminate life support. This could have needlessly prolonged the family’s suffering and made his death even more public, costly, and traumatic for those he left behind.

The power over your money
Along with medical power of attorney, every adult should also have financial durable power of attorney. In the event of your incapacity, financial durable power of attorney is an estate planning tool that gives the person you choose immediate authority to manage your finances, such as paying your bills, collecting government benefits, and overseeing your bank accounts.
We can’t be sure at this point whether or not Perry put in place durable power of attorney, but since this planning document goes hand-in hand with medical power of attorney, it’s almost certain he did. Yet seeing that Perry was only incapacitated for five days before his death, durable power of attorney may not seem totally necessary in his case.

But what if Perry’s incapacity had lasted a lot longer?

Given that Perry could have lingered on life support for months or years, it’s crucial that someone he trusted had the authority to manage his finances during his incapacity. Without durable power of attorney, the court will choose someone to manage your finances, and that someone might be a person you wouldn’t want anywhere near your life savings or checkbook.

What’s more, that someone could even be a “professional” who gets paid hefty hourly fees to handle things, even if you have family members who want to serve.

Learn from Perry’s example
While Perry’s death is certainly sad, if it inspires you to put the proper estate planning in place, it can ultimately prove immensely beneficial. Whether you already have a basic plan in place or nothing at all, meet with me as your Personal Family Lawyer® to get educated about the specifics necessary to keep your family out of court and out conflict if and when something happens to you.

I’ll help ensure that in the event of your incapacity, or when you die, your loved ones will have the same protections Perry’s hopefully had—and more. Let’s get started with a private Family Wealth Planning Session!


What is a Personal Family Lawyer®?  A lawyer who develops trusting relationships with families for life. That’s why Breiner Law Firm offers a Family Wealth Planning Session where I can review your family wealth needs and help identify the best strategies for you and your family. I don’t just draft documents; I ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. While preparing for your Session, you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge. You can begin by scheduling a time for us to sit down and talk because this planning is so important. 
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    Sarah Breiner, Personal Family Lawyer®


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  • Welcome!
  • How to Get Started
    • Schedule a call with Sarah
    • Why Work With Me
    • How Much Does an Estate Plan Cost?
  • Who I am
    • How I Am Different
    • Meet the Team
    • Happy Clients
    • Locations
  • How I Can Help
    • Estate Planning
    • Guardian Guide™
    • Planning + Productivity
    • Business Planning
    • Concierge Legal Services™
    • Community Outreach
    • Will Parties
    • MN Birch Collective Packages
    • Wills for the Spiritual Mama
    • Mother-Daughter Bat Mitzvah Retreat
  • How I Work
    • 3 Levels of Planning
    • Your Family's Lawyer for Life
    • More Than Just Money
    • Planning For Your Children
  • WEBINARS
  • FREE STUFF!
    • Events
    • Name Temporary Guardians Right Now For FREE!
    • Get a FREE copy of the best-selling book Wear Clean Underwear
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Mystical Babes in Business